J.D. Vance, author of the best-seller Hillbilly Elegy and a potential GOP Senate candidate, along with Peter Thiel, the billionaire who supported Donald Trump’s campaign for the presidency in 2016, both invested in Rumble — an alternative video platform conservatives are flocking to on the heels of ongoing allegations of censorship by YouTube.
The major investment will allow Rumble to expand its services and add more viewers, Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski said in an interview with Fox Business.
“As we expand our services, we’ll be able to really compete using the vehicle Rumble sits on in this market. Additionally, we feel that businesses generally are going to feel much safer and much more secure on Rumble in comparison to the incumbent platforms,” Pavlovki said.
Rumble has witnessed explosive growth over the past year. The site adds roughly 31 million views per month and is experiencing increasing brand recognition. The influx of cash solves one of the last setbacks for the company.
“Up until now, our roadblocks have been the fact that we’ve been bootstrapped [for money] and we’ve really had to scale services down internationally. This investment is actually what’s removing our roadblocks and is going to allow us to move forward in a very major way,” Pavlovski added.
Vance and Thiel are becoming major players within Republican Party politics. Vance is rumored to launch a campaign for Senate in Ohio at any time, and Thiel is a strong supporter of Vance. Earlier this year, Thiel donated $10 million to a super PAC supporting Vance’s candidacy. Further, he brokered a meeting for Vance with President Donald Trump in hopes to earn his support in the expected campaign effort.
Vance was an early “NeverTrumper” during the 2016 election cycle, but has recently softened his stance against the former president.
Thiel has also donated $10 million to another super PAC supporting his longtime ally, Blake Masters, in a potential Senate run in Arizona. He is expected to continue his massive donations and is looking at potential recipients such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for the Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “J.D. Vance” by New America. CC BY 2.0. Photo “Peter Thiel” by Dan Taylor / Heisenberg Media. CC BY 2.0.
